Preemie Prints Information Blog

Monday, December 5, 2011

Shaping neonatal ethics

Here is a great paper about 5 babies who have shaped the world of the NICU.

"ABSTRACT
As the National Association of Neonatal Nurses celebrates its 25th year, we look back at 5 cases that reflect the times in which these babies were born and whose stories have impacted the development of neonatal ethics. These 5 stories take us through the periods of “all must be done” to “parents can choose” and to “are we overdoing?” Neonatal nurses can receive guidance from these wise parents today.
KEY WORDS: neonatal ethics, NICU, parents"

How do parents personalize baby's space & isolette in the NICU?

We asked parents how they personalized baby's NICU space. We received some wonderful answers and have included them here for you to enjoy! Please comment if you have anything to add.

Window clings, window paint, pictures, scrapbook paper signs, pictures, stuffed animals, special blankets

Being that Ericka was born 14 days before Christmas we always had stuff animals and stockings around. Then decorated it with pictures of us. Angles and flowers and just made it feel warm. I had her outfit hung up of what she would wear when she came home.

My friend made a blanket with my baby's name on it, I brought in a bunch of blankets and onsies, & the nurse made a sign with her hand/foot prints, a picture with a Teddy bear, her name, and all her birth info. Then later, closer to being discharged (3 months later), another nurse had just gotten a new camera so they did a whole photo shoot and made a scrapbook page with 3 of the pics & I thing saying "work it baby".

I made Holiday decorations( like a footprint ghost, fall leaves with quotes on them), the nurses also made decorations, her older cousins drew pictures, prayer cards, poems, crib medals, a blanket my mom made, and little thank you notes for the nurses.

the NICU nurses had a sign on Sweeties Isolette that said.."warning I roar" because even when he couldnt make a sound you could always tell when he was mad...his monitors would beep like crazy ...so he had a warnong sign cuzz he was ALWAYS mad!! & we had a lil Curious George in his isolette & other monkey stickers cuzz he look'd like a LIL Baby monkey,....(its funny now)....

Andrew had his own little room so we had his name in picture's his sister's would draw for him and family picture's and his teddy bears.

We had small stuffed animals in her bed and in her area with her. I always slept with them in my bra so that way it would have my scent on them. The nurses were always taking pictures forr us whenever we couldn't make it (we lived 2 hours away and I also had a 1 year old home at that time).

I made him a blanket that we could put over his incubator then eventually use to cover up with. We also got him a mobile to go on his crib and would decorate the glass doors to his room acording to holiday :)

I had a hard time putting things up, I didn't want it to seem like we were sticking around. But, we did have pictures of our family, a small stuffed animal, pictures, and cards hanging on the cabinets close by.

My daughter was born this September So I have decorated for Halloween, Thanksgiving and now working on Christmas decor. I have made a scrapbook page for each holiday w/ a pic of her on it, I brought a pumpkin basket and a ghost animal for Halloween and a super cute stuffed Turkey for Thanksgiving. So far for Christmas I have hung a stocking, an ornament w/ her foot prints and she has a teddy w/ a Santa hat that says my 1st Christmas =))

My nieces and nephews colored lots of pictures and gave our daughter some stuffed animals to decorate her space. I had an ornament hanging in her isolette that said, "I made a wish and you came true."...we also had a purple rosary hanging in her isolotte, and I made her a fleece tie blanket that covered her isolette....I brought all of her own clothes so she didn't have to wear the ones from the hospital...she also had an angel figurine that my Mom got for her....oh, the memories ♥

Cute stuffed animals.
These are available in our Preemie Prints shop

Make a tiny flag and string it across your lil' ones isolette
for added color and a very homey feeling

add holiday decorations

Tiny stockings that could be hung on or near the
isolette

These inspirational messages/quote graphics can be printed and laminated
and hung near the isolette. We have about six that are currently available. Prayers are also great to print and hang!

A NICU Christmas

Photo copyright Preemie Prints & volunteer photographer
Glenna Moss Walker!

'Twas the night before Christmas, and in each isolette
Little creatures were squirming and getting all set;
Machinery sat by their bedsides with care,
In hopes that good breathing skills soon would be there.

Day shifters were home all snug in their beds,
As visions of overtime danced in their heads;
While preemies on ventilators, and some on CPAP,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap...

When out in the hall there arose such a clatter,
The residents woke up to see what was the matter.
Away from the sink I flew like a jet
To make sure all was well at my baby's isolette.

Some bilirubin lights with their powerful glow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to babies below,
When, there before my wondering eyes, it would seem,
Was an oversized stroller and a medical team.
With a handful of needles with which they could stick you,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nicu.

More rapid than eagles his specialists came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:
"Now, Nurses! Now, Residents! Now, Neonatologists!
On, Social Workers! On, Respiratory and Occupational Therapists!
From the front of the unit! To the end of the hall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

Up to each baby's cribside they flew,
With the stroller full of toys, and St. Nicu too.
And then, in a twinkling, they stopped at each bed
And tucked in the babies and got them all fed.

As I looked at my baby, and was turning around,
Down our aisle St. Nicu came with a bound.
He was dressed in red scrubs, and I could instantly tell
That his clothes had an obvious hospital smell;
A bag of stuffed animals was flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
A little red pen he held tight in his teeth,
And a stethoscope encircled his neck like a wreath.

He was chubby and plump, with a few extra pounds,
And I laughed when I saw him there doing his rounds.
A turn of his clipboard and a twist of his head
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke few words, but came straight to my side,
And running down his face was a tear he had cried.

And laying his hand on the back of my head,
He gave me a nod, and slowly he said:
"Each night you come here you're aware of the danger,
But your baby is loved by the One in the manger."

Then the medical team gave a thumbs-up and smiled
And St. Nicu placed an animal next to my child.
But I heard him exclaim, as they rolled out of sight,
"Merry Christmas, tiny baby, and have a wonderful night!"

--For Benjamin, Casey & Danielle, from Daddy, 12/24/05
in memory of Emily (11/4/05-11/23/05)

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Volunteers at Preemie Prints are working on special Christmas quilts that will be delivered to St. Joseph's and The Med's NICU in Bryan College Station on December 22nd.

Christmas Quilts for NICU families 2011

Picture frames for NICU families Christmas 2011

Friday, October 28, 2011

Reemie The Preemie

Open publication - Free publishing - More babies

Here is a great little e-book to share with a brother or sister of a preemie! It does a sweet job of putting the preemie and NICU experience into very simple and relatable terms. Enjoy & share!

Sunday, October 16, 2011

2012 Calendar Fundraising Family: Team Acadia & The Monkey Trio

Team Acadia & The Monkey Trio

In 2006, My husband Paul and I were excited to finally after 16 long months of infertility treatments and emotional roller coaster ride of trying to conceive found out that our son Kenai would finally be having a little sibling. It was a regular type of pregnancy. About 28 weeks into, my doctor found out that my A1C was SKY HIGH and started sending me to a maternal fetal medicine specialist in Nashville. While my husband was out of the country for work, I had an ultrasound in October and found out that our baby was going to have issues with the legs, but exactly what, I wasn't sure, and neither were the doctors. It wasn't until the day after christmas that we found out 1. we had a little girl that we named Acadia Faith and 2. she had a condition called Caudal Regression syndrome. She had bones missing her hips and leg, her foot was completely clubbed and one foot had 6 little toes.

It was 3 days later when I was discharged from the hospital that we found out the heartbreaking news that she not only had these other issues, but she also had a heart condition called Truncus Arteriorosis and this would require surgery in a very short time as this condition is life threatening. When Acadia was 10 days old, she underwent open heart surgery. The surgery lasted 7 hours and in the last hour of the surgery she went downhill quick and needed to be put on a machine called ECMO in order to help her heal. what we didn't know at the time was that most people who are put on this machine have a very uphill battle coming off the machine, and most will not. During the night, Acadia had a blood clot and was given medications to get rid of it. The medicine caused her to have a brain hemmorhage. By noon the next day the only thing that was keeping our sweet baby alive was the ECMO machine. Paul and I made the difficult decision to let her go and have her baptized and given last rites. By 3 pm that day, January 6th, 2007, our sweet angel grew her wings.

Acadia

OUR TEAM GOAL IS TO ORDER 25 CALENDARS!

Team Members

Mellissa & Family

Paul's parents

Pamie Tan

Malisa Phillips

HERE IS THE FRONT COVER OF THE CALENDAR AND A PREVIEW

YOU CAN PRINT OFF THIS ORDER FORM AND MAIL IN WITH OUR TEAM NAME AND A CHECK OR MONEY ORDER OR JUST USE THE BUTTON BELOW TO ORDER WITH A CREDIT CARD TO BE AUTOMATICALLY ADDED TO OUR TEAM. CONTACT ME IF YOU NEED ANY HELP! ~Mellissa

More Information can be found on this page

LEARN MORE ABOUT PREEMIE PRINTS BY VISITING

WWW.PREEMIEPRINTS.ORG

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SUPPORTING NICU FAMILIES!

ORDER CALENDARS ONLINE HERE:

Free thermometers
to track your cheerleader fundraisers efforts

Monday, October 10, 2011

2012 Fundraising Family: Team Small Blessing

Team Small Blessing

Kennedi Zahar Branch was born Jan. 17, 2011 at 24 weeks gestation weighing 1 lb 10 oz. and 11 3/4 inches long. She was airlifted to the nearest level III NICU which was an hour and 15 min drive from our home. I cannot begin to put into words how devastating it was to stay in the maternity ward and leave the hospital without my baby.

During Kennedi's 93 days in the NICU she was diagnosed with a mild brain bleed on her left side, a moderate sized heart murmur, chronic lung disease and had abnormal blood vessels and scar tissue grow over her retina in both eyes. By the time Kennedi was released her brain bleed had cleared up completely. She was still on oxygen and a apnea monitor and had to follow up with her cardiologist and optometrist.

Today Kennedi is a happyy almost 9 month old (5 months adjusted) she still sees her cardiologist has since been diagnosed with Pulmonary stenosis, meaning her heart muscles are not as flexible as they should be, and her heart murmur is still present. She continues to see the optometrist, but has been cleared of any deficiencies due to prematurity. She receives physical therapy once a week for an hour a week. Kennedi is still very small for her age and her gross motor skills are somewhat behind, but she is steadily progressing.

Kennedi is an absolute joy and blessing for our family. We are so thankful and grateful to have her and we are participating in this fundraiser to increase awareness and funds to help make it possible for the next preemie to have a success story.

Thank you for your donation and God bless you and your family!

Kennedi minutes old

Kennedi and Nate

OUR TEAM GOAL IS TO ORDER 10 CALENDARS!

Team Members

Cofféi, Brittney, Nate & Kennedi

HERE IS THE FRONT COVER OF THE CALENDAR AND A PREVIEW

More Information can be found on this page

LEARN MORE ABOUT PREEMIE PRINTS BY VISITING

WWW.PREEMIEPRINTS.ORG

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SUPPORTING NICU FAMILIES!

ORDER CALENDARS ONLINE HERE:

Free thermometers
to track your cheerleader fundraising efforts

2012 Calendar Fundraising Family: Team Bug

Team BUG

My son Jayce logan was born April 8,2011 @ 9:43am.. He was tiny tiny 1lb 5oz .. I had an emergancy c-section 17days after my water fully broke. Jayce was 25weeker... He was given 5% chance of surviving.. Today my son is 6months old (2.5months corrected) his due date was July 22,2011.. I cant ask for a better lil boy. I found preemie prints while laid up in the hospital with an infection after having my son.. The support i got was amazing!! Raising money will help other families like us with their long long road... Too many families go threw this alone but with our help they can have the amazing support we share as preemie parents!!